re: Where does Marlon Taylor rank among all-time LSU dunkers?

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This guy!

My reply to FAP SAM was to his question of whether he left anybody out. Not arguing whether Vernel was a better leaper/dunker, just that he could fly. Truly believe Marlon is more violent and a little more explosive but from just a standpoint of how high they get, I think they are even.

It was the Astronaut. One time in person I witnessed a dunk I've never seen since. Against Ole Miss he was running full speed on a fast break. He left his feet AT THE FREE THROW LINE expecting a lob from Ethan Martin. Martin threw it two feet BEHIND HIS HEAD around the free throw line and while in mid-air and full speed Scales grabbed it with two hands, maintained his lift and flight speed, and ferociously slammed it down in one beautiful, picturesque motion, dropping everyone's jaw. I go back to the days of watching Pistol Pete in the Ag Center, and I have not seen anything as athletic as Scales' dunk since that night in 1980.

Sure, lots of guys like Marlon Taylor, etc. can get that vertical lift and great slam right around the hoop. But this one started way out there and finished in spectacular fashion. There was no human way it should have happened.

The Astronaut got his name from the Dan Jenkins' novel, "Semi-Tough" where a character, Astronaut Jones, would launch jumpers as soon as he crossed mid court, and he would sink them every time, and turn to the press table while the ball was still in the air and say, "That's two."

The Astronaut (Scales) was the same way. Although he was 6-9, he would take 30 foot-plus jumpers and hit them with regularity (no 3-pt. shots back then). He had the go-ahead to do so even though LSU had a tremendous inside game with Macklin and Cook. You can see at least one of them by viewing the link Scales destroys Kentucky our Tigerdroppings friend posted here of the famous LSU-Kentucky 1980 SEC tournament championship game, the only one in history that LSU has won, and Scales was the MVP. During the first half he gets the ball about 35-feet out with his feet almost on the sideline and turns and nails a jumper with ease. He also got the shot off very quickly.

His release point was so high on his jumper that nobody could block it, and LSU would often post him down low against taller players, and he would nail his turnaround jumper in their face every time. Watch the video referenced above. In the last 10 minutes of that back-and-forth LSU title game with Kentucky, Scales took over the game and absolutely destroyed Sam Bowie (the 7-2 All-American that was drafted in front of Michael Jordan).
About five times in a row he posted up low on Bowie and stuck the turnaround jumper in his face. He won the game for LSU that night, and it was the rubber match between two great SEC teams which had split during the regular season- two of the best teams in the country.

But that fast-break dunk I saw in 1980 against Ole Miss at the Assembly Center (what it was called back then)- I never saw anything that athletic before or since. He was not only the Astronaut, it was like he was from another planet. And he was an incredible joy to watch.

Dupres vertical was 41.5 at the NBA camp or combine or whatever it was called then. He didn’t jump as high as Taylor does.


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Tyrus had a sick dunk at home against Arkansas. He had to climb the ladder to get the ball on a lob from Garrett

To me he’s the king when it comes to LSU dunkers. He had so many where it seemed impossible for a person to be able to dunk it from where he was yet somehow he’s still do it. Whether it was an alley oop or dunking in a big man or just going up from somewhere it seemed impossible to dunk from. He’s the best I ever saw.

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just remembered Jarell had the between the legs dunk in a close game. That shite was awesome

ETA: YouTube LINK

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That follow-up oop by quarterman

Leonard Mitchell, Dwayne Scales, Jerry Reynolds, Vernel Singleton, John Williams, Nikita Wilson

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Dwayne scales

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...didn’t call him the Astronaut for nothing...